776 GEOLOGY OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 



the fossil remains, as the former species, but it was apparently quite widely 

 distributed. The other species had smaller 3 or 5 lobed leaves. 



The family Lauracese was strongly represented by 5 genera, 1 1 species, 

 and a large number of examples. The genus Laurus, which is now exclu- 

 sively an Old World group, was represented by 6 well-marked species. The 

 genera Malapoenna or Litsea and Cinnamomum, other Old World forms, 

 were both represented, the former by 2 and the latter by 1 species. The 

 genus Persea, an extensive Old World genus, with species also in tropical 

 America and the southern United States, was represented by 1 species, 

 which is closely related to a small tree now living in the South. 



Another large and important group, now entire]}- unrepresented in the 

 Park, is the Fagacese, embracing 2 species of Fagus, 1 of Castanea, 11 of 

 Quercus, and 1 of Diyophyllum. The Fagus here described is a beautiful, 

 characteristic leaf and was evidently rare, as only a few examples were 

 obtained. The Castanea, on the other hand, was very abundant and 

 widely distributed within the Park. The leaves are large, and as handsome 

 and striking as are the leaves of the living species. The oaks, however, 

 were abundant in species and usually in individuals, and all but 3 proved 

 to be new to science. Perhaps the most marked are Quercus yanceyi, 

 Q. culveri, and Q. grossidentata. 



The family Urticacese, which is represented in the living flora by a 

 single rare herb ( Urtica gracilis), was represented during Tertiary times by 

 some 10 species of Ficus and a single more or less doubtful species of 

 Artocarpus. Several of the figures are represented by a large number of 

 specimens — as, for example, Ficus densifolia — but most of them were rare, at 

 least as evidenced by the fossil remains. It is of great interest to learn, how- 

 ever, that they were once present in a region that has long since ceased to 

 support them. The curious leaf referred provisionally to Artocarpus is 

 also of much interest as indicating the possible presence of the bread-fruit 

 trees in this portion of the American Continent. Two unmistakable species 

 of Artocarpus have already been detected, 1 from the Laramie and Denver 

 beds of Colorado, and the other from the Auriferous gravels of California 

 and the Miocene of Oregon. It is therefore not improbable that this type 

 was in existence in the Yellowstone National Park during the early Tertiary. 



The family Leg'uminosse, now represented by a host of small herbaceous 

 plants, was then represented by 3 species of Acacia and 2 of Legu- 



